Clayface (Matthew Hagen)
History The second Clayface, Matt Hagen, first appeared in Detective Comics #298. A treasure hunter, Hagen finds a mysterious radioactive pool of protoplasm in a cave. Immersing himself in it, he is transformed into a malleable clay-like form which could be shaped into almost anything he desires. Hagen soon gleefully begins using his newfound powers for crime. His powers, however, prove only to have a temporary effect, requiring him to return to the pool periodically in order to maintain use of his powers. This power lasts 48 hours, after which time Batman succeeds in capturing him and sends him off to prison. Hagen appears again, in Detective Comics #304, June 1962, posing as "John Royce", a member of an exclusive club to commit robberies due to idle gossip gleaned from conversations with other members. Batman, uncovering the plot, eventually freezes the villain into suspended animation after a brief battle. One year later, Batman trails Hagen to his cave, where Hagen receives his powers, receiving the powers himself, and overcomes the villain, who'd planned to steal some art treasures. Batman seals off the cave, but the crafty Hagen had managed to stash some of the protoplasm away. He eventually copies the pool's protoplasmic jelly by chemistry studies, although the artificial proptoplasm only allows him five hours of Clayface powers compared to the full two days of the pool's. Hagen returns as Clayface in Batman #159, engaging in an insane feud with the Joker, each proving that they can easily adapt to the 'oafish' methods of each other, but both villains are beaten by the team of Batman, Robin, Batwoman, and Batgirl. in Detective Comics #527.]] Clayface escapes from prison and clashes with Batman, Robin, and Superman in World's Finest #140, when he takes on Superman's form and somehow, his powers, until the heroes expose him to some Red Kryptonite, which, weakens Hagen enough to facilitate his capture. Seeking revenge on Superman, Hagen escapes prison in a jailbreak and joins forces with Brainiac in World's Finest #144, Sept 1964, but both villains again meet defeat. Hagen is eventually given a blood transfusion by Preston Payne, who uses this sample from Hagen's body to become Clayface himself! (Detective Comics #478, 1978). After first appearing with a group of villains in a battle with the Justice League in Action Comics # 443, Clayface II became a member of the Secret Society of Super-Villains. He was in the original version of The Society (seen in AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS # 11) but was excised when the story was rewritten. Possibly as a result of his blood transfusion in Detective Comics # 478, Hagen was forced to immerse himself in the mystic pool each time he made a transformation (World's Finest # 264), a rather severe limitation that he'd overcome by the next time he appeared. Hagen appears next in Detective Comics #526. Hagen, along with fellow villains Killer Moth, Two-Face, and Gentleman Ghost are part of a complex triple-cross scheme concocted by the Joker to use the villains to kill Batman before Killer Croc, who has sworn to kill Batman in twenty-four hours, can do the deed. Sneaking into an abandoned warehouse where the villains planned to eliminate the Dark Knight and Croc, Clayface impersonates gang boss Tony Falco with his abilities to distract Croc's gang while Killer Moth gunned them down. Hagen and the other villains were subsequently defeated and captured by Robin and Batgirl. In Crisis On Infinite Earths #12, 1986, Hagen is ultimately killed, along with the original Bug Eyed Bandit, by Shadow Demons. The other villains who use the name Clayface gather Hagen's remains and launch an attempt to revive Hagen. The group of Clayfaces (including Payne, Karlo, and "Lady Clay") dubbed the Mud Pack, ends in failure, and Secret Origins #44, 1990, brings Hagen's tale full circle, by revealing his origin. Hagen briefly resurfaced in HAWK AND DOVE ANNUAL # 1, shown among other deceased villains. Powers Metamorphosis: Clayface can manipulate his physical features to make himself look like nearly anyone or anything. He can even alter his color. The only restriction appears to be a limited volume of mass. Strength level Superhuman: Clayface's additional mass affords him an above-average strength level. Notes Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985-86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal. In other media "Batman 1960's Tv Series" Clayface's first appearance outside the comics was a brief animated cameo in the opening credits of the Batman 1960's TV Series, but oddly, the villain was never actually in the show himself. This could be due to limited special effects at the time unable to make Clayface's shape-changing abilities come to life. ''The New Adventures of Batman'' Clayface appeared in several episodes of Filmation's The New Adventures of Batman in the late 1970s. This show featured the Matt Hagen version of Clayface, and according to his first appearance he must drink his special potion daily to keep his Clayface powers. In this show, he often uses his powers to take on the forms of animals. In Clayface's first episode, Clayface is shown to be able to survive in water without dissolving (unlike later animated incarnations) by turning into a dolphin, but as Matt Hagen he does not know how to swim. His second episode pairs him up with Catwoman in a plot to steal oil. He is also one of the four villains featured in the two-part "Have An Evil Day", in which the alien Zarbor cons him, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin into teaming up against Batman and Robin as a diversion while Zarbor steals Earth's nuclear plants. In this series, Clayface was voiced by Lou Scheimer and Lennie Weinrib. ''Batman: The Animated Series'' See: Clayface (BTAS) Clayface II